Lighting is one of the most important aspects in cinema and photography. The type of lighting used for a photoshoot or a recording directly affects the quality of the resulting end product. The proper implementation of light can mean the difference between a good quality and a mediocre picture. A variety of aspects contribute to different type of lighting including light angle, lighting intensity, natural light, and artificial light. In order to manipulate these aspects, personnel in the field utilize different lighting sources and light manipulation devices. Two of the main lighting sources is a light bulb and an electronic flash unit. The light bulb provides a constant stream of light and a variety of different light bulbs may be used to vary said light depending on the needs of the user. The electronic flash unit produces an artificial light for an extremely short amount of time at a high temperature. This is used to illuminate a dark scene. The light produces by these lighting sources may be altered and modified by a lighting umbrella. A lighting umbrella is reflector which utilizes a reflective surface to modify light produces by a lighting source. A lighting umbrella may be used to diffuse, soften, redirect, or focus light; essential for illuminating a variety of scenes and creating quality photos. Conventional photo/video light sources are broadly divided into 4 types, tungsten, fluorescent, flash, and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Tungsten and fluorescent based light sources offer not only lower power but also poor portability due to fragile nature of the bulb. Flash based light sources offer higher power but due to its size and weight, its portability is poorly rated. LED lights provide 10 times higher output than conventional tungsten photo/video light source at equal wattage, yet consumes significantly less energy. The present invention offers high power, robust construction, and minimal weight as a perfect for studio or location assignments.
The present invention provides allows for the combination of light sources and light manipulation devises in a single, easy to use device. The present invention is a light fixture which includes a light socket, a hot shoe mount, and an umbrella mount. The light socket allows for the present invention to utilize various photographic bulbs. The hot shoe mount allows the present invention to utilize various photographic accessories such as electronic flash units. The umbrella mount allows the present invention to utilize a variety of lighting umbrellas to manipulate and redirect light. Additionally, the present invention includes a handle and a stand adaptor for increased versatility. With the ability to use both an LED bulb and an external camera flash the present invention forms a complete flash light source with high wattage LED modeling bulb which can be used simultaneously as a continuous LED light source. This creates a light source of flash and continuous lighting within the same color temperature spectrum.
The present invention utilizes LED light sources and therefore can perform under the 85 volts to 240 volts, thus compatible in countries such as Europe and Asia with higher voltage, where conventional tungsten, fluorescent, or flash light sources cannot. Additionally, when combined with 12 volt LED bulbs, the present invention can perform on a small 12 volt battery pack that are commercially available in the photo/video industry. The LED light portion of the present invention works as the modeling light of the external flash unit on the hotshoe portion, resulting in a complete flash light source with higher wattage modeling light in a portable format.